Claudio Ranieri reveals Leicester transfer plans after Stoke victory

JAMIE VARDY'S return to goalscoring form was welcome for manager Claudio Ranieri but that still did not prevent the original Tinkerman from admitting there will be more changes to his squad in this transfer window.

A 16th goal of the season from the England forward helped return the Foxes to the top of the table and ensured their manager could jet off for a break in Italy in relaxed mood.

But the Leicester manager admitted he wants to force through more business before the window shuts in a week.

"It's important to have two players for every position," he said. "Our strength is to play with high intensity. It's not possible to play with that intensity for all the season. So I would like another striker to give support to the other three.

Jamie Vardy's 11-game scoring run in pictures

1: Netted an 86th-minute penalty against Bournemouth to steal a 1-1 draw and kick off his remarkable run of form

"If anyone doubts us still, it is up to them - as long as we keep proving them wrong," added Drinkwater. "It does help us. The boys will talk about it if a team or whoever has been talking badly of us, then we will be the first ones looking to put it right."

Consolation for Mark Hughes' beaten side came in the return of influential playmaker Xherdan Shaqiri, who had been missing for two weeks with a hamstring injury but managed an 80-minute comeback.

With Stoke's main focus on Tuesday's Capital One Cup semi-final second leg at Liverpool, in which they will attempt to overcome a 1-0 deficit, his return could prove very timely.

GETTY

Danny Drinkwater celebrates his goal with the Leicester players

"I hope so, we will see," said Shaqiri when asked if he expected to figure at Anfield. "I feel okay, I feel good.

"Of course the team needs to win this game so I want to be involved. Always when you lose a game, after we react very well. I'm hopeful, I'm sure, we will go to Liverpool and make a good game of it and win."

Hughes faces an anxious wait, however, to see if Ryan Shawcross, who limped off after half-an-hour with a back problem that required surgery in August, can recover in time for the tie.

"The big concern is that it may be something more worrying than just a muscular thing," said Hughes. "His back locked and if it proves to be just a muscle spasm, then we'll be delighted.

"Despite this disappointment, we're having a decent season and we'll bounce back from this performance. I'm convinced of that because we always do and you couldn't ask for a better opportunity than a cup semi-final."